Morsi vows to go on with constitutional referendum

Mariam Fam and Salma El Wardany

EGYPTIAN President Mohammed Morsi has vowed to proceed with the December 15 constitutional referendum, offering little to quiet the storm of opposition to the measure and to the broad powers he has decreed for himself.

Less than 24 hours after opponents and backers of Egypt's President engaged near the presidential palace in the worst clash since his election, Dr Morsi used a broadcast on state television to defend his actions and invite opposition figures to an unspecified ''comprehensive'' dialogue. The offer was quickly spurned by the opposition.

The US kept up pressure on Dr Morsi, with President Barack Obama calling the Egyptian leader to ''express his deep concern'' about the deaths and injuries stemming from protests and urging a dialogue with the opposition without conditions, according to a White House statement.

Dr Morsi also refused to withdraw his November 22 decree, which exempts his decisions from judicial review, before a vote on the draft constitution. Protest leaders want Dr Morsi's decree rescinded now, the December 15 referendum shelved and a new panel set up to write a constitution replacing the one drafted by an Islamist-dominated group.

''The constitutional decree and all its effects will end as soon as the results of the referendum are announced - be it a yes or a no,'' he said. ''What I wanted by issuing this decree is to get to the stage of accomplishing the constitution, and the referendum on it to allow this great people to express their will.''

Dr Morsi's vows to proceed with the referendum come after a wave of resignations in his fragile government.

Advertisement

The director of state broadcasting resigned on Thursday, as did Rafik Habib, a Christian who was the vice-president of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the party's favourite example of its commitment to tolerance and pluralism.

Their departures followed an announcement by Zaghoul el-Balshi, the new general-secretary of the commission overseeing a planned constitutional referendum, that he was quitting.

''I will not participate in a referendum that spilled Egyptian blood,'' he said in a television interview during the clashes late on Wednesday night.

With the resignations on Thursday, nine Morsi administration officials have quit in protest in recent days.

The opposition groups that rejected Dr Morsi's call for dialogue said he failed to meet their demands to cancel the constitutional decree and the referendum, Ahram Gate said on its website. The groups have renewed their call for protests.

Mr Obama said the Egyptian government and the opposition should engage in talks without setting conditions. ''The President underscored that it is essential for Egyptian leaders across the political spectrum to put aside their differences and come together to agree on a path that will move Egypt forward,'' according to the White House statement.

Dr Morsi, 61, has faced a wave of protests since expanding his powers by decree and submitting the constitution drafted by the Islamist-dominated panel. Six people were killed and at least 700 injured near the compound as rival protesters hurled rocks and petrol bombs near the palace on Wednesday.

In his address, Dr Morsi accused members of the former regime headed by Hosni Mubarak of being responsible for some of the violence. BLOOMBERG with